If grief-rock is a genre, Foo Fighters just released the newest and rawest record in the collection. But Here We Are is anchored in loss, love, letting go, holding on and the complicated space in between.

After the sad and surprising death of Taylor Hawkins, I had no idea what to expect from the future of Foo Fighters. Each and every one of the band and crew and extended Foo family had certainly experienced loss before (some more publicly than others), but this hit right at home, as deep in the heart as it could have.

What I’m not sure I expected was a 10-track record that takes us directly through the path of dealing with that loss.

At its best, music takes us to places that make us feel. The songs take us inside the writers and singers and players. They turn into soundtracks for reels of memories you might not have been prepared to think about. The words tell one story but become projected onto another story of our own. I feel that a lot on this album.

Early in the album, we get Under You and Hearing Voices back-to-back and it hits me like a ton of bricks. I’m taken back to days of not being able to move or eat or sleep or think.

Both songs vividly take me to the fears and feelings I had when I lost both my dad and step-brother. Under You gets me right away with the sensation of looking for lost faces, all the while knowing they won’t be there. I remember doing it. Searching. Thinking I saw them. Wishing I had. And then knowing I hadn’t and I couldn’t, and I never would again. And Hearing Voices reminds me of the deep sadness of knowing I’d never hear their voices again – and the fear that I’d forget what they sounded like at all. I’ve spent a lot of time trying to hear them in my head so I don’t lose them. If you know, you know.

While Taylor is front of mind for all Foo Fighters fans, Dave Grohl’s mother also passed away in 2022, adding another layer of loss to this album and the songs herein. The Teacher, a 10-minute epic in the #9 slot on the record, feels especially dedicated to her. Before she was a celebrated mother of a rockstar, Virginia was a teacher and in every interview and appearance, we saw the love between her and her son. We can feel the same love, clothed in rock and roll here.

Immediately following The Teacher, is Rest. It is the perfect end to this record. This unintended therapy session. This 48-minute minefield of feelings. With all due respect to Tom Petty, goodbye is the hardest part. And Rest is the closest we get on this album. It’s where I fought back tears the hardest. It’s one I can’t imagine having been easy to write or sing or even think about playing live.

Sometimes a song is just a song. Sometimes an album is just something you put on while you work or hang out or whatever. And sometimes it’s more.

But Here We Are feels like more to me. From start to finish we’re all in this together. We all know what’s happening and what we’re going through. It’s a shared journey, this process of listening to the band deal with their grief, of being reminded of our own, of being together, no matter where we are.

At this time of this review, I’ve listened to But Here We Are a bunch. Mostly on repeat. Sometimes going back to specific songs. I’ve tried to put myself in the shoes of Dave, Pat, Nate, Chris and Rami. I’ve tried to be in their feelings. I’ve been in my own. I’ve tried to place this in the Foo Fighters catalogue, but I’m struggling.

There was Foo Fighters before Taylor. There was Foo Fighters with Taylor. And now there’s Foo Fighters after Taylor. It’s not somewhere I’d ever imagined we’d be. But here we are…

Foo Fighters, But Here We Are Tracklist

1. Rescued
2. Under You
3. Hearing Voices
4. But Here We Are
5. The Glass
6. Nothing At All
7. Show Me How
8. Beyond Me
9. The Teacher
10. Rest

Foo Fighters made their most public return since the sudden and heartbreaking death of Taylor Hawkins with their livestream rehearsal, Foo Fighters: Preparing Music for Concerts on Sunday, May 21.

It was a full band run-through of hits and new songs. It was a circle of music. An introduction and a visit with old pals. A chance to sit in the music in memory and weirdness and happiness and newness.

I’ve loved this band for 25 years. I’ve seen them live and bought socks as merch. I’ve got original debut album record store collateral framed in my office. I’ve played them loud on the radio, Spotify, YouTube, CD and vinyl. I’ve sung their songs at karaoke bars. I’ve introduced my kid to their catalogue. And we keep going.

And here we are now, starting a new chapter that doesn’t ignore or rewrite or edit the past but moves the story forward.

Here’s what I was thinking while I watched…

I’m Excited.

It’s Weird.

The Drummer bit was fun, cute – but also, I don’t know if I was ready for a joke about it. But the band likes to joke. And who am I to tell them not to do what makes them happy?

But also, yay an official full-time drummer in Josh Freese. Someone who grew up near Taylor, knew Taylor, knows the band, and now joins them.

All My Life is like a familiar old hoodie that I can wear and also bob my head to and I am not upset about that choice to kick things off.

Seeing Dave and Pat, and the rest of the band, smile and laugh, made me really happy like instantly. I needed to see that. After losing Taylor, a friend and bandmate and brother. After losing Kurt. After losing friends and family and peers we don’t know by name, they have made the decision to keep going. With joy.

Rescued and Under You are still weird to me as new Foo Fighters music, but they work. They fit here.

The banter and jokes and stories feel like a peek behind the curtain. And it’s not the first time we’ve had that from Foo Fighters. But it’s still fun. Still light-hearted. Still like it’s just a group of friends that would be fun to be in. To be around. To absorb their vibe by osmosis is as good as it ever was.

I miss Taylor Hawkins. I miss seeing him smiling and laughing and joking with his friends.

More new – Nothing At All. New is good. New is fun.

Watching and listening to Josh talk to Dave about Monkey Wrench feels like a moment that we didn’t need to see because it’s just band dudes talking about band stuff, but here we’re at and we get it and it’s just another reminder that this is a work in progress that we’re dealing with. It’s the real BTS stuff.

I like librarian Dave in his glasses being the dad-mode rockstar he’s transitioned into from the sweaty drummer kid in Seattle.

For a while here I just got sucked in. Watching. Listening. My favourite band is on my screen and it feels right.

The reality that every member of Foo Fighters is 50+ is a reminder that we’re closer to the end than the beginning. That this is my band, not my kid’s band. But I don’t care. I will have the music forever. Fans will listen to the new music and the old music. Fans will see the new shows and remember the ones they saw before.

I could have watched more. I was happy in this stream. I was happy watching this black and white rehearsal from 606. I’m selfish and want more.

If I have access to this thing for 72 hours, I’m going to watch it again. (note: I already have watched it again as you’re reading this)

Last one… I’m excited for the new album, But Here We Are, dropping June 2, 2023. I hope y’all are too.

Foo Fighters: Preparing Music for Concerts Livestream Setlist

‣ All My Life
‣ Rescued
‣ No Son of Mine
‣ Under You
‣ Workin’ for a Livin’
‣ The Sky Is a Neighborhood
‣ Nothing at All
‣ Monkey Wrench
‣ Aurora